Proposed Provision: B5.8. Beginning in 2027, create a Basic Minimum Benefit (BMB) within Social Security (i.e., the cost of the BMB would be charged as a cost to the OASI Trust Fund), with the following specifications: (1) Eligibility for the BMB would be limited to OASI beneficiaries who have attained normal retirement age (NRA) or above. OASI beneficiaries under NRA would not be eligible for the BMB. (2) The BMB would be calculated on a household basis and split equally between members of the household. In the case of a married couple, both spouses would need to claim any Social Security benefits for which they are eligible before they could receive the BMB. If both spouses have claimed and one is NRA or above and the other has not yet attained NRA, only the half of the BMB for the spouse over NRA would be payable. (3) The BMB amount for single beneficiaries would be equal to either: 1) the BMB base ($604 in 2015) - 0.70 * current monthly OASI benefit (not including any BMB), if positive; or 2) zero. (4) The BMB amount for married beneficiaries would be equal to either: 1) the BMB base ($906 in 2015) - 0.70 * total household monthly OASI benefits (not including any BMB), if positive; or 2) zero. (5) The BMB bases for singles and couples would be updated annually for changes in the average wage index (AWI). (6) Single filers with Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) over $30,000 and joint filers with AGI (including taxable SS benefits) over $45,000 would be subject to clawback of the BMB through the income tax system. Any BMB would be reduced by one dollar for every dollar of income above the thresholds. (Thresholds, in 2015 dollars, would be indexed to chained CPI-U.) Clawbacks would be credited back to the OASI Trust Fund.

OASDI Trust Fund Ratio
(assets as a percentage of annual expenditures)

Year Current Law Provision
2022230230
2023211211
2024194194
2025177177
2026160160
2027143141
2028126124
2029109106
20309188
20317470
20325752
20333934
20342115
20353-4
2036-16-24
2037-35-44
2038-54-64
2039-74-85
2040-95-106
2041-116-128
2042-137-150
2043-158-172
2044-180-195
2045-202-218
2046-224-241
2047-246-264
2048-268-287
2049-291-311
2050-313-335
2051-336-359
2052-359-383
2053-383-407
2054-406-431
2055-430-456
2056-453-481
2057-477-505
2058-501-530
2059-525-556
2060-550-582
2061-575-608
2062-601-635
2063-627-662
2064-654-690
2065-681-718
2066-708-747
2067-736-776
2068-764-805
2069-792-835
2070-821-864
2071-850-895
2072-880-926
2073-910-957
2074-940-989
2075-971-1021
2076-1003-1054
2077-1036-1088
2078-1069-1123
2079-1104-1159
2080-1139-1196
2081-1175-1233
2082-1212-1271
2083-1249-1310
2084-1286-1349
2085-1324-1389
2086-1363-1429
2087-1402-1470
2088-1442-1511
2089-1481-1552
2090-1520-1593
2091-1558-1633
2092-1595-1672
2093-1632-1710
2094-1668-1748
2095-1703-1785
2096-1738-1822
2097-1773-1857
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